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Stranded
Translation by Paul Vincent
We still don’t know what it was,
the creature that lay here yesterday,
its wings spread out on the sand,
bulk almost too big for the day
but it lay on its side like a horse of
insane proportions that had charged at the coast,
a head like a house, the hide just as smooth
as an adder or toad, the eyes
almost sad, even closed.
It lay in the light of the north,
we stroked its skin until night.
We slept restless, unable to think.
Now there’s talk here of gods
and fables – who knows where it is.
Strange tracks lead down to the drink.
From Napkins at Half Mast, translated by Paul Vincent
» Comment on this translation 1 comment(s)
- About the translation:
- » Read translator's notes
- Poet:
- Ester Naomi Perquin
- Translator:
- Paul Vincent
- Original language:
- Dutch
- Issue:
- 2013 Number 1 - Strange Tracks
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Sasha Dugdale
16th Apr 2013
We took the magazine title 'Strange Tracks' from this lovely poem. Ester is reading in Brighton on 4 May and we'll try to get a podcast of her reading online for anyone who can't make it. But if you are around tickets are on sale at www.brightonfestival.org